Guest Column: A look back at a historic lawsuit

John Nix, Guest Columnist

Tuesday

Jul 2, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 2, 2013 at 10:08 PM

John Nix looks back on the Voting Rights Act of 1965

“Freedom is never free.”

When my friend Ted Sampley, local businessman, veteran and activist, passed away, I had those words were inscribed on his memorial. Ted knew that government unchecked is freedom lost. The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1787 to protect this nation from tyrannical rule. I know of no other document — other than the Holy Bible — that contains so many truths.

Fast forward almost 200 years to 1965. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted to address sometimes overt racial discrimination in voting. The coverage formula, Section 4, and preclearance requirement, Section 5, were intended to expire after five years but has been reauthorized several times.

Fast forward again to April 7, 2010. After the Kinston City Council refused to appeal a U.S. Department of Justice decision, five citizens filed suit April 7, 2010 against Attorney General Eric Holder and the USDOJ. The case stemmed from the 2008 referendum wherein 67 percent of the voting public elected to have non-partisan municipal elections but were denied by USDOJ. Those citizens were Stephen LaRoque, Anthony Cuomo, Lee Raynor, Clay Northrup and me.

Loretta King of USDOJ’s civil division wrote in a letter denying Kinston nonpartisan elections that white voters in Kinston will vote for blacks only if they are Democrats and the city cannot get rid of party affiliations for local elections because that would violate black voters’ right to elect the candidates of choice.

Ms. King is the same official who stopped the New Black Panther Party case in Philadelphia, where two black revolutionaries stood outside a polling place intimidating voters with nightsticks, racial slurs and insults on Election Day 2008. She dropped charges after they refused to answer to charges.

That’s justice, right?

What convinced me to fight this battle? First, the decision was an insult to Kinston voters, especially black voters. Secondly, the City Council should have shown more chutzpah and appealed King’s decision in the interest of an overwhelming majority vote. Thirdly, it was time to call the USDOJ on the carpet for its racist statements and policies.

In the Kinston case, Holder and Co. were wielding Section 5 as a weapon to control the outcome of minority majority precincts and municipalities.

I had seen enough! I had seen that a tool intended for good could be used inappropriately to benefit a few at the expense of many.

After a loss in the D.C. Circuit and a victory in the Federal Court of Appeals, the case eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court where it would be known as Nix v. Holder. Because our case was a strong one, the USDOJ retroactively pre-cleared Kinston for nonpartisan elections in an effort to moot the case. This was dirty pool, a slime ball move on Holder’s part.

The Supreme Court decided to hear the Shelby County case, striking a fatal blow to ours. Our attorneys at Jones Day prepared an amicus brief to be used in the Shelby County case.

The end of a three-year journey came to a close Tuesday, June 25, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided 5-4 to reverse Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, thus effectively eliminating the need for Section 5. What was intended to be a five-year rule had continued for nearly 50 years.

Jurisdictions like Kinston really don’t need the federal government intervening when it comes to the ballot box — and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed. It was the will of the citizens of Kinston, coupled with that of Shelby County that made this historic Supreme Court decision a reality.

This decision means the end of preclearance for hundreds of jurisdictions like Kinston, which are now free to enact changes to their voting procedures without asking for permission in advance from the federal government. The Constitution does not permit the federal government to take over our voting decisions and spin them the way they see fit.

Governmental abuses of power and corruption are being exposed daily. We have an obligation to our children to keep government in check. Your car needs oil changes, regular maintenance or an occasional computer reset. So it is with government and elected officials. Unchecked, they become arrogant and untouchable. But they work for you, the average citizen, the taxpayer, the voter.

Though it may be uncomfortable, it is our duty to take action when our liberty is at risk. Freedom is never free.

John Nix is the co-founder and partner at Matrix East, PLLC. He’s also the president of the CSS Neuse Foundation and the lead plaintiff in the Nix, et al v. Eric Holder case, for the reversal of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The opinions of the guest columnist are not necessarily those of The Free Press.

Be our guest

The Free Press guest columnist feature appears every other Wednesday in this space. Would you like to be considered as a guest columnist? Contact Managing Editor Bryan Hanks at 252-559-1074 or at Bryan.Hanks@Kinston.com.

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